"We are pleased with this vote and we hope that the quartet will establish a mechanism to apply the road map," Uraikat told the media.

"The international community must push through the deployment of an international force to apply the peace plan without conditions and without waiting until the Israeli government tries to impose facts on the ground."

Israel's objection

Israel believes such a resolution is unnecessary and does not want UN involvement in the peace process. But Russia, frustrated by the continuing violence between Israel and the Palestinians and the lack of peace talks, insisted it wanted to breathe life back into the "road map" Moscow helped design a year ago.

Ariel Sharon tried to presuade the Russians to drop their quest

The road map lays out steps the two sides should take towards setting up a Palestinian state by 2005.

Lavrov said earlier he had introduced the resolution because the council had to show the new Palestinian government it had UN support for what it needed from the Israelis and to tell Palestinians they had obligations "to implement on the ground which would be for security improvement."

Sharon during a visit to Moscow in early November tried to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to drop the quest for a resolution. The Russian president was reported to be considering it, but then went along with his foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, to push the measure.